Desolation
by PenumbralWolf
Summary: The battle of the Dark Forest is all but a distant memory in the faded background. Now a cat claiming to be the Oracle has risen, striking horror into the clans. When StarClan sends the medicine cats a prophecy about this danger, none of them understand what the prophecy could possibly mean. One thing is for sure, though. This could spell the demise of all four clans.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

Rain steadily dripped from the sky, pouring onto the earthen ground in a relentless deluge. Clouds had rolled in, causing the sky to become a horrendous, monochromatic heap of darkness. The sound of rain spluttering and thunder roaring its agonized cries did little to ease the chaotic atmosphere. Darkness tainted the spirits' ground, making the greenery become dull colors and the ferns to become laden with rain water.

Four cats stood in a clearing, their dampened paws reflected on the surface of a mirror-like pool. Frost-tipped stars leaped off of the crystalline water, making it appear as if the night sky was captured within this one pool of pure water. The starlit pool reflected the faces of the felines, revealing their grave expressions. Amber, green, and blue eyes sparked fire into the depths of the pool. These felines had gathered around for a terrible situation, a situation that could not be fixed.

"Monarchstar!" A dark, burly warrior stepped forth, his amber eyes sparking daggers at a lithe, ginger tabby. "How do you expect us to deal with this situation? StarClan's falling apart!" the tom-cat spat, his gruff, rumbling voice ringing through the clearing. "I'm sure you have some smart ideas, former leader of ShadowClan."

The ginger tabby's gaze lingered upon the pool for a moment, and only the steady breath rattling in his chest could be heard. Finally, as if the silence was too much to handle, a screech of thunder deafened the silence. Monarchstar dipped his head, his hazel eyes showing the flame of confusion and anxiety. "This is unlike anything StarClan has faced. We've dealt with the Dark Forest, but we have never met a living adversary that could be predisposed to seeking the destruction of our very existence. Not to mention, this could destroy all four clans around the lake. I think we need someone who can actually help us, but they need to be living. If anything, they must bear the burden of their clans."

A slender, blue lynx point stepped forth, her sapphire eyes glistening as they locked with the former ShadowClan leader's hazel orbs. "As the former leader of RiverClan, I believe that my descendants are the best choices for that. We have the ability to swim through the most spiteful rapids, and no other clan can do that. What if we turn the tides and go against these rapids, too?" The pale, gray-blue she-cat lifted her head, puffing out her chest. "Besides, my clan is the most well-fed. We'd have the best chances of surviving."

The dark tom-cat stepped forth, spitting and hissing at the blue lynx point. "Don't get so full of yourself, Dewstar! Remember, this involves all of the clans. If anything, you fishbreaths should be the first to go down. Though I hate to admit, we all have to unite against this danger. What does Monarchstar propose?" The dark brown tom turned to Monarchstar, his emerald eyes looking inquisitively at the smaller tom-cat.

Monarchstar swished his tail, stirring up the once-still waters of the reflective pond. His head swiveled to look at the dark brown tom. The former ShadowClan leader's gaze was drowned with remorse and exhaustion, and his fur was unkempt and dirty. "We will send a sign to all of the medicine cats from all four clans. It will be vague, though. Perhaps they can unravel this omen of destruction. Dewstar, you tell RiverClan's medicine cat. Oakstar, you tell WindClan. Featherstar, you tell ThunderClan. The prophecy goes like this:"

"_Terror brews under the disturbed waters; a shadow lurks beside the bank. Thunder crackles nearby, causing the wind to stir restlessly. Once again, a void will swallow everything whole._"

A whisper on the wind. A fine-tuned breath. That's what the prophecy was to these felines. However, it stood for life or death. It stood for the clans' destruction or survival. It was everything now.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Golden light slipped into the camp through the canopy, glistening like tongues of bright flames. The warmth of greenleaf spread throughout the forest, scalding the delicate leaves and the bare tussocks of grass. Even the river that gurgled through the landscape did little to keep away the scorching heat of greenleaf. Many of the prey had scurried into their dens, and the cats of RiverClan were basking close to the bank of the river.

Padding closer to the entrance, a brown tabby kitten poked her head out of the nursery, her golden eyes glistening with curiosity. Never had she felt the sun pour into the den with such intensity. No cat would deny that this was the warmest day they had felt for seasons, but this was different for the kit. This was her first greenleaf, and she had not been expecting it to be so different from any of the other seasons.

"Rainkit! What are you doing there? I have to clean your fur!" a voice called from the back of the den, amusement sparking in the tone. In the shadows of the coolest part of the den sat a pale cream tabby, blinking her golden eyes. There was no doubt this was Rainkit's mother. The two looked almost identical, aside from their size and the hue of their pelt.

The dusky brown tabby grumbled something underneath her breath, casting a haughty glare back at her mother. If there was anything the kit could think about now, it was her apprentice ceremony. Soon enough, the leader would be bounding onto the meeting place of RiverClan, calling for all cats to gather around. That would be her one chance for freedom. Maybe she would be bossed around less.

As the kit padded over to her mother, she felt the pink tongue rasp against her head. Rainkit twitched her ears indignantly, lashing her small tail and stirring up the reeds in the nest. "I think I can do this myself!" Rainkit snapped, leaping away from her mother and swiftly lapping at her pelt. The dirt tasted foul against her taste buds, but that didn't matter. She wasn't going to let her pride be injured over something trivial.

Abruptly, a voice came from behind Rainkit. A golden tabby kit had padded in alongside a blue-gray tabby tom, his amber eyes showing a mocking expression within their depths. "Rainkit, is that the way you go about becoming an apprentice? Palestream seems to be doing all of the work for you. I'm able to do everything on my own." The golden tabby twitched his ears, snorting in disgust.

A spark of anger flared inside Rainkit's golden eyes. Just how long had Sunkit been there? She had never liked this kit. He always seemed to have his head high up, as if he was scoffing at every other kit. Of course, what did she expect? No leader's child would ever act kind around a lowly kit. Though she did not hear him boast about it much, Rainkit knew that Sunkit felt higher because he was the leader's son. Sunkit's brother, Sparrowkit, was not much better. Still, it seemed like Tidalstar favored Sunkit.

Tidalstar dipped his head, his blue eyes glistening. "Don't worry about my son. Sunkit, you should be easier on the other kits. You'll be a fine warrior one day, but I don't want that to make you critical of every other cat. Just remember, a true warrior fights to protect his or her clan. That is the way of RiverClan as I have always known it." The blue-gray tabby smiled down at his son, glancing back over at Rainkit for a moment.

At one point, Tidalstar's sapphire gaze rested on the young, brown tabby. "Are you ready to become an apprentice, Rainkit? Sparrowkit's already leaping around my paws, and Sunkit won't let me forget it. I'm surprised you haven't started bothering me about it yet." The RiverClan leader let out a hearty laugh, swishing his tail around Rainkit and Sunkit. "Come on, you two. I'll call all of the cats to a meeting now." With that, Tidalstar bounded out of the nursery, heading for the meeting place.

Rainkit could hardly contain her ecstasy as she followed him. In fact, she almost forgot that her mother, Palestream, was following her. In spite of this notion, the dusky brown tabby swiftly padded alongside Sunkit, noticing the occasional glare from the larger kitten. Rainkit rested beside the reed-covered rock at the head of the camp, allowing herself to be enveloped by the soft gurgling of the river nearby. This is what she loved about her clan's camp. There was always a peaceful, serene feeling to it. Not to mention, RiverClan was always the most well-fed clan.

While Rainkit was shifting restlessly and Sunkit was gazing out at the group of cats, another kitten stumbled to the front of the rock. Even though his brother was massive, he was considerably smaller than Sunkit. In fact, his stature was even smaller than Rainkit's. In spite of this, he puffed out his chest proudly. There was no doubt that this was Sparrowkit.

"I call you here for a clan meeting!" The leader's voice resonated through the camp, calling the cats to meet around the rock. A beam of sunlight cast its golden flames upon the silhouette of Tidalstar, making the fur along his spine appear golden. "Gaining new apprentices has always been one of the most important traditions in clan life. I bring forth three kittens, in hopes that they can become brilliant warriors one day."

"Sparrowkit, I believe it is your time to become an apprentice. You will be known as Sparrowpaw, and your mentor will be Echostream. Echostream, the clan values you for your empathy and understanding. Though you are a new warrior, please teach this apprentice everything Briarmoon taught you."

"Sunkit, you will be known as Sunpaw. Hawkwatcher will be appointed as your mentor. Hawkwatcher, the clan values you for your loyalty and cunning. Please teach this young apprentice the ways of a true RiverClan warrior." Tidalstar dipped his head, and his steady gaze rested upon Rainkit.

Rainkit inhaled a sharp breath, almost choking on the air out of excitement. Over the course of the moons, she had been waiting eagerly for this moment. Her only dream was to become a warrior, and this was one pawstep closer to that dream. That was it. She was definitely going to surprise all of the warriors when she excelled at the training.

"Rainkit, your new name shall be Rainpaw. Your mentor will be Willowheart. Willowheart, the clan values you for your honesty and understanding of right or wrong. Teach this young apprentice the ways of an honorable and noble warrior."

Yowls went up as the meeting finished, and the warriors chanted the new apprentices' names encouragingly. Rainpaw felt excitement spark underneath her pelt, and her golden eyes glistened as she padded over to her mentor. The pale brown tabby was sitting with her emerald-green eyes glistening. As Rainpaw's gaze met the young warrior's, the apprentice could already tell that these would be the best moons of her life.


End file.
